word of the issue
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Word Of The Issue: Bergmál
The Grapevine’s guide to sounding Icelandic, one word at a time Have you ever shouted into the void? More specifically, have you ever heard the void shout back? Maybe you’ve hollered “hello!” into a massive cave and received your greeting back tenfold?…
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Word Of The Issue: A Window Of Opportunity
The Grapevine’s guide to sounding Icelandic, one word at a time Continuing the “two (or more) words for the price of one!” deal from our last Word of the Issue column, this week’s pick is another beloved and classic compound word. And…
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Word Of The Issue: Gervitungl’s Moony Syllables
Hæhæ! If, like me, you have embarked on the journey of trying to learn Icelandic, you might have already noticed that the language is a fan of the compound word. Sometimes, that can lead to some really intimidating words — like “Vaðlaheiðarvegavinnuverkfærageymsluskúrslyklakippuhringurinn,”…
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Word Of The Issue: Okay, Byeeee!
We already went over the greeting góðan daginn in a previous issue. It means “good day,” in case you weren’t paying attention. But what do you say when you’re ready to part ways with a person? It’s time to get blessed. “Bless”…
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Word Of The Issue: What The Fokk Are You Looking At?
The Grapevine’s Guide To Sounding Icelandic, One Word At A Time Unless you don’t go outside, you will hear tons of Icelanders generously using the word fokk. Icelanders, especially younger ones, are keen on using this at times that English speakers would…
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Word Of The Issue: The Infinite Uses Of Jæja
The Grapevine’s guide to sounding Icelandic, one word at a time Jæja. Have you ever met a more versatile word? Really, think about it. I’ll wait. In Iceland, jæja does a whole lot of heavy lifting. While the word officially translates to…
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Word Of The Issue: Don’t Be Such A Buttface
The Grapevine’s guide to sounding Icelandic, one word at a time If you spend any time around a leikskóli, you’re bound to pick up a few fun words and phrases. Between the near constant disembodied declarations of “ég er buin!” echoing through…
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Word Of The Issue: I Said Good Day, Sir
The Grapevine’s Guide To Sounding Icelandic, One Word At A Time Icelanders aren’t generally a smiley, friendly, greeting strangers in the streets kind of people, but it’s still good to know how to greet people in the event that you do meet…
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Listen! It’s Heyrðu’s Time To Shine
The Grapevine’s Guide To Sounding Icelandic, One Word At A Time In many languages, telling someone “Listen!” is a good way to start a fight. Telling bank tellers to listen will get you kicked out, telling the receptionist at the doctors’ office…
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Word Of The Issue: Everything Is Geggjað
The Grapevine’s Guide To Sounding Icelandic, One Word At A Time Learning Icelandic is hard. There are all these cases and genders and rules that even the Icelandic teachers can’t explain the reasoning for. It can be frustrating. And it all feels…
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Just Sayings: “Úti Að Aka”
So, you’re out driving? That doesn’t sound so bad. Does it? Well, if you are in Iceland, and someone says to you that you are out driving (úti að aka) they mean that you have absolutely no goddamn idea what you are…
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Word Of The Issue: Hálkurök
Throughout Iceland’s wintertime weather reports, you will frequently see the word “hálka.” This refers to the icy conditions, usually brought on by freezing rain, that will cover sidewalks and roads in Iceland. Travelling by foot or car over hálka is likely to…
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Word Of The Issue: The Olafsdottir
What were you doing at age 16? If we were to hazard a guess, you probably weren’t presenting your own self-titled element at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships. Well, bedazzled national hero Sonja Margrét Ólafsdóttir did just that October 29th when she…
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Word of the Issue: Skíthæll
So you really don’t like that insanely expensive bagel that you bought at the tourist stop near Geysir and can’t restrain yourself from giving the cashier a piece of your mind? Try calling him “skíthæll.” The word is a weird combination of…
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Word Of The Issue: Utangátta
‘Utangátta’ has suddenly become a mystical word in Hollywood, thanks to Cary Fukunaga’s hit Netflix series ‘Maniac.’ In episode nine, Jonah Hill’s character, Owen Milgrim, plays an Icelandic man called Snorri who (spoiler alert, not that it matters) accidentally kills an alien…
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Word Of The Issue: Olnbogabarn
Anyone who has more than one child and says they love them all equally is lying, as anyone with siblings can attest. There is always a favourite child, just as there is always a least favourite. In Icelandic, the latter is the…
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Word Of The Issue: Skítseiði
Icelanders, like the rest of the world, have been following the news about former TV villain turned former White House staffer, Omarosa Manigault-Newman, and her new tell-all book about her time with the QAnon-superhero Donald Trump. Of course, Trump gracefully rejected Omarosa’s…
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Word of the Issue: Bongóblíða
One of the most-used words in Icelandic to describe really good weather is ‘Bongóblíða.’ The origin of the word is actually from the 1988 Icelandic Eurovision song ‘Sólarsamba’ (“Sunny Samba”) by Icelandic beloved musician Magnús Kjartansson. He wrote and sang the song…
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Word Of The Issue: Útlandarigning
While Iceland is known worldwide for its unpredictable and horrendous weather, things weren’t always so wet here. In fact, back in the old days the worst rain you’d experience was a delicate fine mist that you could walk through for hours in…
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Word Of The Issue: Karphús
The word of the issue is karphús, a word of unclear origin but more than one meaning. Karphús is almost always used in the context of “að taka einhvern í karphúsið,” or “to take someone by the karphús,” which means to really…
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Word Of The Issue: Víti
Let’s say you’re playing a friendly game of football in Akranes and your buddy Þórgrímur wanders a little too close to the opposing team’s goalie. The ball is on the other side. He’s behind the defence. You hold your breathe. The whistle…
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Word Of The Issue: Fjandakornið
The word of this issue is fjandakornið. Author Margaret Atwood once pointed out that when it comes to a culture’s swear words, “the worst ones in any language are what they are most afraid of”. In Iceland, nearly every swear word has…
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Word Of The Issue: Gúrkutíð
Gúrkutíð is that magical time of year between June and August, or January and March, when nothing notable happens and media have no news to write. Although this phenomenon is well-known in Iceland, ‘The Cucumber Time’ (gúrka=cucumber) dates back to the idle…